Sport History

King's athletics aims to encourage the development of participating athletes, both technically and socially. The sport is available for all those who are available and would like to opt into the activity. Athletes of all abilities are actively encouraged, and large numbers of our pupils take part in this part of the summer sports programme.

Both girls and boys are encouraged to participate in school teams and events, and specialist coaching is available in every discipline, including pole vault and hammer.

Athletics at King's enjoys an enviable reputation, with many of our athletes representing Somerset at the regional level and beyond. A good number appear in national events, and we have several current national champions, some of whom have now gained their international vests. Robin Danaher won the Senior Boys javelin title at the English Schools Championships, whilst Ronnie Wells won the 100 metres, and went on to win the British School, UK Games and English age group titles.

Cricket at King's has always been at the forefront of the school's culture and traditions. It currently has the status of being A Centre of Cricketing Excellence. This has been more than reflected in the last three seasons of cricket, in which the 1st XI have lost only four school fixtures and have gained the prestigious award of Wisden Cricket School of the Year in 2009, an achievement we almost emulated in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons!

A lot of our success can not only be attributed to the excellent facilities and coaching staff throughout the school, but also the amazing wealth of talent that we have seen over the last few years. Jos Buttler, now a full England international, shot into the limelight last year in his first full season as a county professional with Somerset. To add to this, following the success of the 1st XI season in 2010, Alex Barrow and Craig Meschede also gained full county professional contracts with Somerset. On Wednesday 18th May 2011, all three played for Somerset in the County Championship against Sussex, a very proud moment for King's College - click here to watch TV highlights of Day 1.

However, it is not just at the top end of the school that we are producing top players. Throughout the school there are numerous other county players representing their age groups, all of whom are hoping to follow in the same footsteps as Buttler, Barrow and Meschede. There is also a long list of former pupils who have also played first-class cricket in the past, including Roger Twose (ex-New Zealand Test and ODI cricketer), Richard Harden, Nick Boulton (Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 1998), Tom Webley and Phil Lewis.

Phil Lewis is currently the Director of Cricket at King's, and is in charge of coaching the 1st XI. Head groundsman and cricket professional Dennis Breakwell, a Somerset cricket legend, is not only an integral part of the coaching set-up but is also said to produce the best school cricket pitches in the country. Robert Woodman, an ex-Somerset and Gloucestershire cricket professional, has also recently joined the coaching set-up, and is currently in charge of developing our youth teams at both King's and King's Hall prep school.

The school has also been awarded the status of being one of the first MCC Foundation Hubs, an initiative which will allow local young cricketers access to the brilliant coaching and facilities that King's can provide. It has been a huge success so far and continues to emphasise the growing reputation of cricket at King's.

King's boasts an amazing campus of pitches where six games can be going on at any one time, all against the backdrop of the main school buildings. The school has a number of artificial outdoor nets next to each of the pitches, and we also have an excellent indoor net training facility, including two bowling machines, perfect for our winter training schedule. King's is also highly regarded within ECB development, thanks to the hundreds of cricketers who come down to represent their counties at the summer cricket festivals held at King's College.

King's College has a great tradition in cross-country, regularly turning out teams in a full fixture list of school matches. The matches involve a number of schools meeting at each venue, and allow for a variety of different events, from long relays to single-age group races and open events. The latter are adjusted to allow younger runners the chance to compete against their older rivals.

Girls are thoroughly integrated into the sport, and at each event, they are included as part of every team. Matches are often structured to include girls and younger runners, so that they play a full part in the scoring team.

All participants are encouraged to maximise their talents, and are brought on through careful tutoring. The runners all train together over a variety of terrains, through woodland, and over more nteresting areas on the Quantock and Blackdown Hills. Every year a good number go on to take part in county teams at both regional and national level.

Riding is a popular and successful activity at King's College. King's is the ideal place for your son or daughter to pursue their passion for riding and/or competing, as well as take part in a number of additional, varied extra-curricular activities, and get an excellent academic education. It is common to hear in an assembly report the name of a rider who has played a pivotal role in a rugby, hockey or netball fixture on Saturday, as well as being part of a triumphant equestrian team the following day! We do not select riders for teams; entry is open to all who wish to compete and have fun - this makes all our successes even more rewarding!

If you have your own horse locally we can help you integrate riding into your school day, and if you would like to stable your own horse nearby while you are boarding we can help with that too!

Inter-school competitions take place throughout the year and almost every Sunday during the Michaelmas term. As members of the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) we regularly enter teams and individuals in NSEA competitions for eventing, show jumping, dressage and jumping with style (JWS) as well as other local school events. Our teams are regularly placed at these events and the riders thoroughly enjoy competing. Each year a small group of riders attend an inspirational private cross-country clinic with world-class gold medallist and six times Olympic Three-Day eventer Mary King.

Riding lessons are offered at local BHS approved riding schools to all pupils, and we cater for all abilities from complete beginners to experienced competitors. In the future we hope to offer Polo lessons and trail rides on the Quantocks.

If you have any questions regarding riding activities at King's College please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Gresswell, head of riding.

Football has been played on the King's College site since 1864, when teachers and students would combine to play local teams. Against this historical backdrop, King's College football is understandably an important part of school life, offering many opportunities on and off the pitch, with the emphasis focussed on participation, development and enjoyment.

Competitive fixtures are played through participation in the Independent Schools FA South West League and ISCA Cup competitions during the Lent term, with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Under 16, Under 15 and Under 14 boys' teams turning out regularly. Our Under 16 boys also participate in the ISFA National Under 16 Shield.

Boys' football is offered as a second sport option for the Michaelmas term, when Futsal is also available with an intra-mural league and fixtures. King's is the first ISFA National Futsal Development School.

King's is also proud to be the first appointed ISFA National Girls' Development School, and our girls' football is available as a second sport option in the Michaelmas and Lent terms. King's girls compete in the Independent Schools South West and National six-a-side tournaments, in which we enter Under 15 and Under 18 teams, while our Under 18 girls participate in the ISFA National Under 18 Girls' Cup.

King's Under 15 girls in particular have enjoyed conspicuous success, with consecutive titles in the South West tournament in 2009 and 2010, while our Under 18 girls were semi-finalists in the National event in 2011. King's College is the base for the ISFA Under 18 South West squad, with Head of Football Chris Heayns the Regional Coach and ISFA representative.

Girls' and boys' teams are supported and guided by fully qualified coaches and staff. Through positive working relationships with the County FA, King's pupils have a pathway to County FA Centres of Excellence and further opportunities. Off the pitch pupils attend leadership camps, and gain coaching and refereeing qualifications through close links with the Independent Schools Football Association and County FA, providing excellent personal development opportunities. Football Leadership is an extra-curricular option with Junior Leaders, Football Futures, Refereeing and FA Level 1 coaching courses available.

King's hosts many local and regional tournaments, and our leadership pupils are active in the organisation and delivery of some great footballing events, using their participation as a part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. King's footballers have progressed to the ISFA England Girls' Under 18 squad and to the FA National Leadership Camp.

Our footballers go on tours and attend pre-season training camps to both prepare for the season and gain valuable life enriching experiences.

All are welcome to participate in King's College Football with the only expectation being that, as with all King's College Sport, players show appropriate commitment and a willingness to learn and develop. Above all King's College players enjoy their football!

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."

Golf is now an integral part of our extra-curricular programme. Pupils can choose to join the Friday afternoon activity with the Master i/c Golf and coach Phil Lewis, regardless of previous playing experience. We have an excellent partnership with our local club Taunton and Pickeridge GC, but we also play all over the South West. We also offer the option for our golfers to join an eight-week coaching academy programme set up by Taunton and Pickeridge Head Professional Simon Stevenson. Simon, who is a fully qualified PGA Level 3 coach, focuses on all elements of the game during these sessions. The quality of our extra-curricular golf has led to many of our pupils improving their handicaps dramatically, and has also seen a rapid rise in the number of victories our golf team is achieving.

We currently take part in the ISGA, HMC Foursomes, Schools Cup, Somerset Cup, and numerous other friendly fixtures throughout the year. We currently have an excellent crop of players in the golf team, with both Taylor Stote and Neil Brand leading the way playing off five handicap each. At present all of our golf team are single-figure handicappers and we look forward to more success in the future.

The girls' hockey programme at King's is designed to be varied, purposeful and enjoyable, providing each and every player with a sense of achievement and a positive attitude towards living a healthy lifestyle. It also aims to develop skills, identify talent and vigorously promote it. Excellence, when and where appropriate, is pursued. This is made possible by first-class facilities, professional coaches, a large pool of player talent, and a challenging fixture list.

There are 12 staff involved in coaching, including two goalkeeper coaches, several of whom have had national, regional or county coaching and playing experience. These staff oversee ten girls' teams throughout the Michaelmas term. Individuals are also encouraged to seek representative honours, and tours are undertaken on a regular basis. Recent tours have taken us to Barbados, Singapore and Malaysia. We have just returned from a very successful hockey and netball tour to South Africa.

In the Michaelmas 2011 season, our Under 16s were crowned county champions, qualified from the West Preliminary Finals, and at the West Finals finished seventh best school in the West of England.

Boys' hockey

Boys' hockey is flourishing at King's, and in the last year alone we have had five players selected to represent the West at Under 18, Under 17 and Under 16 levels, having progressed through England Hockey's 'One System'. We have just completed a highly successful hockey tour to India, playing schools and clubs in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

We play hockey on a very competitive circuit, with fixtures against Cheltenham College, Canford, Millfield and Sherborne. We regularly put out ten hockey sides on a Saturday covering all age groups. Last season the Under 14s and Under 16s reached the final and the Under 18s the semi-finals of the County Cup. In the indoor tournaments we were runners-up in both the Under 16 and Under 18 Cup in Somerset, and in both age groups we came in the top four in the divisional tournament.

We are lucky to have a team of ten coaches, several of whom have played hockey at a high level. The coaching is progressive, and the new pitches are already paying dividends, with the skill level of the players already showing significant improvement. This has been reflected in the number of players now entering the Junior Development and Junior Academy Centres based at King's.

Our facilities include two state-of-the-art sand-dressed artificial turf pitches, opened in December 2009 by Simon Mantell (England and GB) and former pupil Maddie Hinch (England and GB Under 21), and an older sand-filled turf. Our fantastic facilities enable us to host county and divisional tournaments at King's.

Netball at King's is an enthusiastically led major game. We run successful senior and junior sides, and cater for players of all year groups and abilities. Our training sessions are run by passionate coaches, made up of teachers, support staff and an outside coach. The external coach supports both the juniors and seniors once a week. On a Tuesday and Thursday we offer structured and comprehensive skills training, fitness drills and match practice. On a Wednesday and Saturday the competitive sides have either matches or match training.

We have a qualified umpire and Level 1 and 2 qualified coaches, and fully support and encourage our coaches to train annually to keep them up-to-date with changes within the game.

For the seniors we have four teams who play regular block fixtures. Our 1st team plays around 12 fixtures during the season, and is always entered into local tournaments as well as the National Independent School competition. The juniors have Under 15 A and B, and Under 14 A and B teams, and where other schools can offer a C fixture in either year group we always say yes. We have approximately ten block fixtures through the season.

We have regular overseas tours - within the last nine years we have been to Singapore and Malaysia, Barbados, and are touring to South Africa in August 2011.

We encourage the more gifted girls to play additional netball by allowing them to attend a local club for evening training (Galmington Netball Club). We also start the girls on the talent identification and development programme, which aims to support talented athletes within the region, helping them to reach their full potential and continue along the pathway to national level. The programme is set out by England Netball and referred to at regional level as the 'Somerset Netball Academy'.

King's College has had a strong rugby tradition for many years now, including winning the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens in 2007, reaching the semi-finals in 2013 as well as winning the West of England Sevens that same year. School sides have regularly competed successfully in the U15 and U18 Natwest (previously Daily Mail) Cup and Vase competitions.

King's fields nine teams every Saturday, three senior teams and six junior teams. King's aims to both stretch the best players who represent the 1st XV or the junior A teams, and to develop the skills of any boy who likes rugby but whose ability or size may be more appropriate to a B team. In the 2013/14 season we have seven players in the Somerset County U18 squad as well as two players in the Exeter Chiefs EPDG (Elite Player Development Group) and in the Devon County U16 Squad. Over the past five years we have consistently supplied a stream of players for the National Independent Schools team, The Lambs, and these individuals have toured the likes of Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Ireland with the cream of independent school rugby playing talent.

Our current fixture list includes all the local schools such as Queen's, Wellington, Taunton School and Blundell's, as well as Cheltenham College, Sherborne and Clifton. The junior sides also play the local state schools that offer rugby. This is a tough fixture list, but it is hoped that our strongest sides will win most, but not necessarily all their games, and in weaker years some victories are still likely.

Each team has its own coach, who is on the teaching staff, and former pupils are encouraged to come back and help at coaching sessions.

In addition to 15-a-side boys' rugby, which is the main sport in the Michaelmas term, there is also 7-a-side rugby in the Lent term for seniors, Under 16s and sometimes Under 14s. Also in the Lent term, rugby is available as an option for girls, and it is hoped that soon the girls may be able to enter a 7-a-side competition.

Our vision is that pupils will leave school having enjoyed their rugby, and will want to carry it on after school either at club or university level.

Swimming at King's is a multi-faceted area of school life whether it be social, recreational, sport, or PE orientated. Swimming takes place in our purpose-built pool, which is 25 metres long by 10.5 metres wide. The pool is multi-depth from 1.1 metres in the shallow end to 2.8 metres in the deep end, thus facilitating water polo and scuba diving as well as swimming. The type of swimming on offer varies during the year, and swimming is available in all of the options for both GCSE and A level PE. All 3rd form pupils go through basic stroke technique work to help them to swim more efficiently and enjoy their swimming more.

As part of the games programme during the Michaelmas and Lent terms, swimming is offered as a minority sport. This is itself multi-functional as the pupils opt for the type of swimming that best suits their ability, whether it be recreational fitness, or maintaining fitness levels for squad swimmers not involved in major sports. The sessions are run by the swimming coach, therefore help is at hand for improvement, setting schedules, or simply keeping a wary eye on the amount of effort being put in.

The Summer term is when the pool comes into its own and is taken over to a large extent by the swimming squad and their competitions. The squad train four days a week, and also squeeze in an early morning session. The conclusion to the season is a competition called 'The Liddon Meade Cup', which is the longest running unbroken competition in the world between independent schools. Social swimmers are given the opportunity to swim after the squad and to join the early risers if they wish to do so.

Director of Tennis, Adrian Simcox, came to King's in September 2012, having held the post of Director of Tennis at Millfield and previously National Coach to Scotland. There is a comprehensive programme of matches in the Lent and Summer terms, and the school competes in the National Schools' Championships and the Independent Schools' Championships held at Eton. We have all-weather courts for training and matches, and during the winter months we also have access to excellent indoor facilities very close to the school.

Adrian has introduced a year-round tennis programme covering all levels from international to beginner. Individualised programmes to suit all levels incorporate Squad Training, Individual Lessons, and Strength and Conditioning. There is also Tournament Planning and Support for performance level players.

Future plans include pre-season tours to Portugal.

The coaching programme caters for players of all abilities, from the most able to players with little experience. Everyone is encouraged to play and improve their tennis. The aim of the programme is to develop technical and tactical awareness, and to enjoy the challenge of competition. We also run school singles and doubles tournaments, house events, and competitions for pupils and parents.

Specialist coaching is provided during all sessions to enable our tennis players to improve throughout the term and their time at King's in both singles and doubles.

Match play largely happens in doubles format. Fixtures are organised against other schools in the South West as well as the OAs, and are always exciting and competitive each year.